Tottenham spent £52m on Xavi Simons in the summer transfer window, but they are yet to find the best Dutch player like Liverpool with Florian Wits.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank says Xavi Simons needs time to settle in, much like Florian Wirtz did after his record-breaking move to Liverpool.
Spurs paid £52m to sign Simmons from RB Leipzig after missing out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White. The Dutchman also received offers from Chelsea and arrived in the Premier League with a great reputation, scoring 22 goals and providing 24 assists in 78 appearances for Leipzig.
However, he has fallen behind with just one assist in eight appearances for Tottenham, and that came from a corner kick in the first game on September 13th. His slow start has been matched by Wirtz, who is yet to contribute a single goal in 10 games for Liverpool, who left Bayer Leverkusen for £116m.
“I think that’s a very good question and I think it’s a very good comparison with Wirtz,” Frank said at a press conference before Spurs’ match against Monaco on Wednesday. “Also, like Xavi, they are very good players. They are coming to a new country, a new club, a new city. (They) just have to get used to it.”
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“And that’s part of it. We’re all being evaluated on a game-by-game basis, but we also have to look at the bigger picture a little bit more over time. I’m always looking for bits and pieces of what we’re working on.”
“For example, Xavi, I think there were some good parts. I worked with him and asked him to get into the box more and when you look back at the game, he did that. Were there any big moments that caught your eye? No. But there were good signs, so I think we’re always moving a little bit in the right direction.”
Simmons and Wirtz are both playmakers and have played the No. 10 position so far without much success. Liverpool will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday night after a four-game losing streak.
Wirtz came on as a substitute in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United, playing in central midfield, but once again failed to make an impact. He started for the Reds in their last Champions League match against Galatasaray, but has only featured off the bench since then.
Despite this, manager Arne Slott has hinted that he could be given a starting role in Frankfurt. “For Florian[Wirtz]too, it’s special to come back and play in Germany,” he said.
“It’s special for Jeremy Frimpong because he, like Florian and Hugo (Ekitike), had success in Germany. It’s great for all three of them to be able to play in Germany again.”
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